Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-24
ADDISON COUNTY COURT.
Morseman Found Guilty of Manslaughter
Flint Again on Trial.


MIDDLEBURY, June 2O--The jury in the
case of Douglas and wife VS.. DR.. f.. ID,
Hall, failed to agree and were discharged.
AS the case was an unusually important
one, Judge Rowell would not discharge
them when they first reported, but sent
them out and kept them as long as there
was any hope of agreement.
Albert Bowen, correspondent with Ida
Bailey in an indictment under the blanke ct
act, Monday asked for a continuance of his
case on the ground of inability to procure
the attendance of an important witness,
who was the Bailey woman herself. and
the case was continued.
Then came the most serious trial of the
term, that of the State VS.. Frank +. Morse
man for the murder of Charles Hincklev.
1t took all Wednesday forenoon to get a
jury and before it was obtained the panel
had been exhausted and talesmen had
to be called from the crowd IN the court
room.
9, Morseman is Al years of age and not of
q high order of intelligence His reputa-
ton before the affair was not of the best
The State claims that on the night of
August 81 Frank Morseman and the de-
ceased Hinckly got into an alteration at
West Salisbury. They had fierce en-
counter, the result of which was that
The effects of which wounds he died Sept
8. There had been some trouble and bad
Dlood between the parties previously but
there was no witness but the men them
selves as to how the encounter came
about that night. The first witness who
arrived on the scene of slaughter found
the men struggling on the ground, Morse.
man under and Hinckley on top. The
witness, ). F.. Dyer, pulled Hinckley off
without difficulty and Morseman said he
would go home if Dyer would let him.
and he went off home
Morseman in his own testimony claimed
that Hinckley attacked him on that night.
and although he remembers various I'M
important incidents preceding and sue
ceedlng the stabbing itself he asserts that
ne knows nothing about having an open
khlle ana does not remember anything
about stabbing Hinckley at all. The
theory of the defence is based on the
claim that if Morseman stabbed Hinck-
ley, although he does not remember
having done so, it was done in self-de-
renee. state Attorney Wids and Hon
H. II. Hard of Burlington conducted the
prosecution and j. NJ. Sade of Middle
bury and Henry. Ballard of Burlington
was closed last week and all the arcu-
ments except that of Mr.. Hard were con
Guided before the Saturday adjournment.
In closing the pleas for the State Mr..
HARD spent all the time of the forenoon
session to-day, and this afternoon Judge
Rowell delivered the charge to the jury,
occupying about an honr and half in its
delivery.
The jury retired at $3.50 this afternoon
and this evening brought in verdict of
manslaughter. He will be sentenced to-
morrow.
After the jury in this case retired. the
case of the State VS.. j. c. Flint, charged
with burglary at Hancock came on for its
third trial. There was good deal of time
spent in getting a jury. The case will
take up all the rest of this week, and may
run day or two into the next.
This afternoon Gov. Stewart presented
a petition asking that the court adjourn
from Monday to Thursday, next week, as
Tuesday and Wednesday are commence
ment days at Middlebury college. The
court said that they would take the mat
ter under advisement.